The improvement in global communications (fast, affordable internet, and mass access to devices such as laptops and smartphones) has led to a boom in remote working.It was once the dream of many to work from home. Now that the dream has come true for millions, is it really all that great? Working from home, while sounding ideal and alluring, is not always the consistent, stress-free situation you may think it is. Here is why.
1. People Don't Believe You Actually Work
Many CEOs and managers are not in favor of employees working from home because they don't believe any real work gets done there.
Elon Musk, Time's person of the year for 2021, said working from home is not really working, but just pretending to work. To this end, he ordered all remote Tesla employees back to the office in 2022, and threatened to fire any employee who didn't, so they can "pretend to work somewhere else".
Musk is not alone. According to this Press Release from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 70% of managers say that remote workers are “more easily replaceable than onsite workers.”
In other words, 70% of managers find it easier to hire and fire remote workers, which suggests that onsite workers are more valued, and remote workers have far less job security.
2. You Are Cut Off From Colleagues
Today, there are many jobs that can be done from home. But human beings are a social species that need connection with each other. This connection sparks creativity and enables collaborative problem-solving.
According to NPR, Stanford psychologist Jeremy Bailenson calls it the "watercooler effect":
The office is a favorite setting of thinkfluencers ...who tout its "serendipitous interactions." Think brains colliding with brains in random interactions that generate profitable ideas. Companies like Google and Facebook have bought into this idea, designing big offices with communal spaces to try to get creative juices flowing.
A Zoom call just doesn't have the same impact. A Pew Research Survey taken in 2020 found that 67% of remote workers feel less connected from colleagues.
3. Your Mental and Physical Health Declines
Being at the office is not just great for creativity and collaborative problem-solving, it is also good for your mental health and overall wellbeing. Working from home, communicating sporadically with colleagues across vast distances, can leave you feeling isolated and depressed.
Motivation is a problem and procrastination is your constant companion. Your mental and physical health could take a nose dive, and you could easily succumb to drug and alcohol abuse, and possibly begin to entertain suicidal thoughts. You are also at risk of failing to take care of yourself. Since you don't have to go anywhere, your general hygiene and grooming may suffer.
In addition, you are at risk of overworking; an online survey of remote workers by the American Psychiatric Association found that the majority suffer from a sense of isolation, loneliness, and a tendency to continue working beyond normal hours. Another study published by BioMed Central found that people with an already existing mental health condition suffer even more:
Detrimental health impacts of home-working ... were most acutely experienced by those with existing mental health conditions regardless of age, gender, or work status, and were exacerbated by working regular overtime.
The aforementioned Pew survey polled more than 10,000 Americans that work from home, and they identified the following problems:
- 46% take less exercise
- 39% suffer musculoskeletal problems
- 37% suffer poor sleep
- 36% suffer lack of motivation to work
In order to protect your health, maintain a healthy posture all day to prevent back pain, which is one of the most common problems for remote workers. Check our guide for tips to stay fit while working from home.
4. You Are Less Productive
According to Forbes, Microsoft conducted research on more than 60,000 of its employees and found that although working from home may boost short-term productivity, it eventually lowers productivity in the long-term because of a combination of reasons, some of which we have covered above.
These include cutting you off from your colleagues, depriving you of the benefits of the "watercooler effect", growth of silos (lack of effective teamwork), and disruption of your mental and physical health. That said, if you must work from home, we recommend using tools that can help you stay focused while working from home.
5. Your Living Costs Shoot Up
According to Bloomberg, a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that remote workers spend up to $15 billion more on rent and housing costs than those who stay in the office. Working in a cramped apartment can be very unpleasant, and employees who find themselves without an office tend to move to a place where they can get more room:
Between 2013 and 2017, households with at least one adult who worked from home spent more money on housing, on average, than ones that all worked outside of the house, the study found: Remote renters spent between 6.5 % and 7.4% more of their income a month, and homeowners who worked remotely had mortgage and property taxes that were 8.4% to 9.8% greater than non-remote households.
Although one may argue that eliminating the daily commute delivers savings, working from home means you are using your electricity and internet all day. That's expensive, and if your home internet supply comes with data caps, it's frustrating.
The overall rise in energy costs means your electricity bill can amount to a small fortune, especially during winter. In addition, you also have to pay for your own office supplies, your grocery bill is higher, and you still have to pay for childcare costs.
All these costs would be covered fully or partially by your employer if you reported to the office daily. However, according to GovDocs, Federal Law (Fair Labor Standards Act) does not require employers to reimburse remote employees for business expenses they incurred while working from home or elsewhere; only ten states have laws requiring employers to reimburse employees, and even they don't cover all your expenses.
Therefore, working from home is better for your employer than it is for you; your employer gets to save on office overheads without raising your salary.
6. No Health or Social Security Cover
Many work from home gigs offer zero benefits that regular employees take for granted. We are talking about health insurance, pension, and paid vacations. Many remote workers are paid per job or per hour and have to take care of their own health costs and savings plans.
According to eHealthInsurance, in 2020 the national average health insurance premium under "Obamacare", or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was $456 for an individual and $1,152 for a family.
Many remote workers have to cover this cost themselves without any help from the employer. As a result, your net income is significantly lower.
Working From Home Can Have Disadvantages for Your Career
When you work from home, you suffer all the disadvantages of a working life and gain few of the advantages: your health declines, your personal costs increase, and your social life takes a hit.
On the other hand, when you go to the office daily, you have physical access to your colleagues and your company's tools and resources; the result is better mental health, better physical health, and a more productive professional life. Let's get back to the office.